Lindsey Guice Smith

Lindsey has been the Commission’s Executive Director since October 2015. Lindsey began working as a staff attorney at the Commission in 2010 under a federal DNA grant, becoming well versed in current DNA technologies and testing methods. She was promoted to Associate Counsel in 2012. In addition to serving as legal counsel for the Commission, Lindsey also investigated innocence claims, served as the Commission’s certified Evidence Custodian and managed the Commission’s federal DNA grant.

In February 2018, Lindsey was selected to serve on the National Institute for Standard and Technology/National Institute of Justice (NIST/NIJ) Evidence Management Executive Steering Committee. This committee is comprised of individuals from across the United States with backgrounds in criminal justice, law enforcement, evidence management, academia, and more. The Executive Steering Committee will be identifying guidance needs for the preservation, storage, and tracking of non-biological evidence types; revising existing standards to reflect current best practices in storage, tracking, and preservation; and promoting awareness of challenges and solutions in evidence management.

In March 2018, Lindsey was elected President of the North Carolina Association for Property and Evidence and will serve a three-year term. Lindsey has been a member since 2013 and served as Vice President from March 2015 to March 2018.

In July 2018, NC Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks appointed Lindsey to serve as a member of a working group to develop a strategic plan for testing of sexual assault kits in North Carolina. The goal of the working group is to create a process to test all kits that are as of yet untested and to create a tracking system for future testing of all sexual assault kits. Lindsey plans to bring her extensive background in evidence management and neutral criminal investigation to create workable solutions that improve North Carolina’s criminal justice system.

Lindsey graduated summa cum laude from Elon University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She graduated with Honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law in May 2008. Lindsey is admitted to practice law in North Carolina.

Throughout law school, Lindsey focused on criminal law with a specific interest in criminal prosecution and innocence work. While in law school, Lindsey interned with several district attorney’s offices across North Carolina, as well as with the Innocence Commission.

In addition to her work at the Commission, Lindsey also teaches a continuing education course on the use of forensic DNA in private investigations.

01

Apply

In order to apply directly you must:

Be claiming complete factual innocence for the crime for which you are convicted and any related and/or lesser offense.

Be convicted of a homicide, robbery, sex offense, or class A-E felony in North Carolina State Court.

02

Review Process

In order for the Commission to review your claim there must be:

Credible and verifiable evidence of innocence.

New evidence of innocence that the jury did not hear or that was not available prior to a plea.

03

Statute

By statute, the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission:

Cannot review procedural errors, sentencing issues, or any other claims not associated with actual innocence.